A Week In Business

OCEAN CITY – Realtor Della Wilson of Prudential Carruthers in West Ocean City has earned the prestigious Certified Distressed Property Expert® (CDPE) designation, having completed extensive training in foreclosure avoidance with a particular emphasis on short sales.

At a time when millions of homeowners are struggling with the possibility of foreclosure, the skills and education accumulated by Wilson over her years as a realtor continue to be a huge benefit to shore area residents and communities.

Short sales allow the distressed homeowner to repay the mortgage at the price that the home sells for, even if it is lower than what is owed on the property. This process can save many people from foreclosure and even bankruptcy. If a bank forecloses on a property, the home is placed on the market for sale. After the home sells, the banks have the right to redeem the difference between what was owed on the home and the actual sales price.

Medical Leaders Appointed

BERLIN – During a recent general medical staff meeting, Kristine Griffin, M.D. Chief of Medicine, Eric Bontempo, M.D. Chief of Staff, Thomas Beck, M.D., Chief of Surgery, and Jeffrey Greenwood, M.D Vice Chief of Staff, were elected by majority vote to serve as medical staff leaders for Atlantic General Hospital.

Griffin received her medical degree from the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, and has practiced for 10 years.

Bontempo is an orthopedic surgeon at Atlantic Orthopaedics in Berlin. A graduate of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Bontempo is board certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Orthopedic Surgery.

Beck is an orthopaedic surgeon with the Atlantic General Hospital Center for Joint Surgery and Atlantic Orthopaedics in Berlin, He received his medical degree from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Greenwood is an emergency medicine physician employed by Emergency Service Association and serves as medical director of the Emergency Department at Atlantic General Hospital. Greenwood received his medical degree from University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Appointed To Round Table

BERLIN – Hunter “Bunk” Mann III is a qualifying member of the 2010 Million Dollar Round Table and has been invited to attend their meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia in June.

The Million Dollar Round Table has been the premier association of financial professionals since its beginning in 1927 and membership is considered to be an honor.

Mann is the founder and co-owner of Mann and Gray Insurance Associates, LLC, a multi-line agency that insures over 3,000 policyholders on the Delmarva peninsula. He received his Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation in 1974 and is a past president of the Delmarva Life Underwriters Association.

Hospital Honored

SALISBURY – In an annual competition sponsored by McKesson, Peninsula Regional Medical Center earned top honors for its use of technology to help caregivers improve patient safety related to the use of high-risk medications. The medical center achieved an overall 85% adoption rate for using computerized physician order entry (CPOE) to order medications electronically, update patient records and support process change.

Peninsula Regional was one of multiple top-performing inpatient organizations to participate in McKesson’s “Celebrating CPOE Success Award” competition held in mid-February in Atlanta. The competition is held each year to identify best practices in the use of CPOE, and to give hospitals an opportunity to showcase achievements in patient safety and care processes.

“The focus of our CPOE initiative has always been patient safety,” said Chris Snyder, DO, Chief Medical Informatics Officer, Peninsula Regional. “As our CPOE adoption levels have increased, we’ve been able to make process changes and better use of information to enhance the quality of care we deliver.”

While most U.S. hospitals still rely on handwritten physician instructions for their patients’ care, Peninsula Regional’s CPOE system provides the ability to electronically submit patient orders for pharmacy, nursing, laboratory and radiology, eliminating errors related to poor handwriting. The system also alerts caregivers to patient allergies or potential adverse drug reactions. In addition, it updates patient data in a single, secure electronic health record that is readily available to authorized members of the care team.

As a result of using CPOE, Peninsula Regional was able to reduce the number of patients with elevated ratios for blood clotting, increase compliance with its heparin protocol and greatly improve anticoagulation management. The organization also achieved a reduction in adverse drug reactions with dilaudid, a potentially dangerous narcotic medication.

Featured Stories

OCEAN CITY — The fate of an iconic building on the east side of the Boardwalk is hanging in the balance this week with the heirs to the property preparing an appeal and the city claiming the site for the public good. Situated on the east side of the Boardwalk at South Division Street, the… Read more »

BERLIN – Plans for a bike path along the railroad tracks in Berlin are expected to move forward following approval of a design proposal. On Monday the Berlin Town Council approved a design and engineering proposal for the Berlin Bikeways Project from Davis, Bowen & Friedel (DBF). Dave Engelhart, the town’s planning director, said all… Read more »

OCEAN CITY – Surfers Healing returned to the beaches of Ocean City this week for a day-long surfing camp that gives children with autism and their families a sense of support and community. On Wednesday, 200 children with autism gathered in front of the Castle in the Sand Hotel where they were given the opportunity… Read more »

OCEAN CITY — An uptown Ocean City property with a tragic past will be redeveloped with a mixed-use commercial and residential project after resort planners this week approved the site plan for the long-awaited redevelopment. The Planning Commission on Tuesday approved a site plan for an addition to the UpTown Center along the west side… Read more »